1st Period
– Good to see the early fighting out of the way. John Scott and Shawn Thornton dropped the gloves within the first three minutes of the game and Scott won decisively. In fact, it was more goonish as Thornton left the ice woozy and wouldn’t return to the game.
– Ryan Miller looked composed through the period. The Bruins had some good chances, including on the power play when Lucic was sitting all alone in front of the net. The Bruins had 14 shots on goal and Miller made all 14 saves.
– The penalties in the first period just seemed like foolish penalties. Leopold took a slashing penalty that seemed minor but also probably didn’t need to happen. John Scott took an elbowing penalty because he checked a guy and got his elbow in his face. The Bruins were not able to convert on either chance but they were needless chances to begin with
2nd Period
– Thomas Vanek just looked impressive on his opening goal of the night. The slapshot just beat Tuukka Rask who didn’t have much of a chance to stop it. That would become a theme for Vanek on the night.
– It was inevitable that the Bruins were going to score their first goal. The Sabres defense just couldn’t seem to get out of their own zone and Rich Peverley made them pay. Miller didn’t have much of a chance as he was trying to see through five players to stop the puck
-Brad Marchand’s first goal looked familiar, all you had to do is rerun the tape from Tuesday night. The only difference is that the defenseman that looked like a traffic cone was Tyler Myers.
– Marchand’s second goal pretty much same as the first. The Sabres couldn’t get the puck out of the zone and the passing the Bruins offense did was crisp.
– Chara and Lucic penalties were game changers. Thomas Vanek scored the only power play goal on a nice deflection of a Christian Ehrhoff pass between his legs. The Tyler Ennis goal that tied the game again was a case of keeping the offensive pressure tight even after the power play.
– The Buffalo Sabres outshot the Bruins 15-12 in the period which while watching the first half of the period just didn’t seem like it would be possible
3rd Period
– Coming into this game, the Boston Bruins hadn’t allowed a third period goal.
– Thomas Vanek continues his domination by having the assist on the game winning goal and then putting another one in for safe measure. Vanek finished the game with three goals and two assists, his 2nd five point night of the season.
– The Sabres offense in the game found one key to beating Tuukka Rask all night and that was keeping him moving. If Rask was moving, he was consistently out of position to make a save and that’s how the Sabres were able to put six goals past him.
The Sabres will have Friday night off before heading to Montreal for a Super Bowl Saturday afternoon matinee against the Montreal Canadiens.